Is My Coffee Too Fresh?

Welcome to the first in our new series: Infrequently Asked Questions. This is not an issue that comes up given the general lack of availability of freshly roasted beans in the current market, but coffee needs at least 24 hours and more usually 48 hours rest after roasting to lose the “grassiness” caused by the off-gassing of CO2. Most coffee takes somewhere between three to five days to peak in flavor, although that can vary quite a bit. Some beans, especially if dark roasted, can peak within a couple of days of roasting, while light roasted coffee may take up to a week. Of course, none of this is really relevant in a marketplace where coffee usually sits on the shelf for weeks, or gasp months, before making it into consumers hands.

The Magic Bean

There are a lot of myths and misinformation that gets circulated about coffee, which I suspect is at least in part driven by market forces that rely on the perception of roasted coffee as a non-perishable bulk good, rather than as fresh produce. However, anyone who has had the opportunity to taste high-quality beans roasted within days cannot help but perceive a stark contrast when compared to the vast majority of stale, over-roasted and haphazardly brewed coffee that is the standard fare. But the thing that surprises me the most is how many people I meet who have never seen green, unroasted coffee. This seems to me to be just another artifact of an industry that is built on keeping people uninformed about the true complexity and depths of flavor that can be exhibited by properly handled beans. Otherwise, coffee is little more than a caffeine delivery device. So people, here is what it looks like before and after roasting.

Honduras COSAGUAL Coffee

So what are we seeing here. Before being roasted, coffee is green or greenish-blue, small, dense and about 20% water. During roasting, the coffee turns yellow and then brown, begins to expand substantially and loses 15% to 18% of its mass, mostly water. The roasted beans in this picture are roasted to Full City, just before the beans begin to develop fissures that allow flavor oils to escape and caramelize (or what is unfortunately more common, burn) on the surface of the bean. Because coffee is a natural product, there is often substantial variation in the size and shape of the beans. Generally speaking, in higher-quality coffees, the crop is carefully screened to ensure more consistency. However, for some coffees, the heterogeneity of the beans yields a more exotic flavor. Even in the beans in this picture, which are relatively homogeneous, there can be seen a small variation in size and shape.

Why I Hate Auto-Drip Machines

Okay, so I don’t really hate auto-drip machines, but after months of research and testing the models I had at hand, I have come to the conclusion that the convenience they offer comes at too high a price.

So here’s the litany of cons: The vast majority of auto-drip coffee makes simply don’t brew at the right temperature, yielding weak and/or sour brew. The few that do brew to the right temperature are either very expensive, hard to get or aren’t built very well. If you do manage find a good machine at a price you can afford, they are all built to brew a fixed quantity of coffee, usually 8 to 12 cups at a time, a bit much for the average household.

Another problem I have found is that the machine are not designed to be used with fresh coffee, which releases a considerable amount of CO2 during brewing. If you put in the right quantity of coffee in and it is less than two weeks off the roast, the foam or blossom from the CO2 is likely to back up into the water spout.

Suddenly, the convenience of an auto-drip doesn’t seem all that great. For the same money or less, you can purchase a decent kettle, some manual drip cone filters in a couple of sizes and a nice glass-lined thermal carafe, giving yourself total control over your brewing. Others may prefer a French press (in which case I would recommend a grinder upgrade if you are still using one of the chopper variety).